Mordecai Gebirtig, born in 1877 in Krakow, Poland, was a Yiddish folk poet and songwriter. Gebirtig had three daughters, for whom he wrote and performed his poems. The words were set to improvised melodies, and most of his songs resemble entries in a diary. Many of Gebirtig's poems contain themes of eastern European Jewish life in the 1920s and 1930s. The lullaby "Your Kitten is Hungry" dates from the early 1920s. The lyrics, addressed to a hungry child, evoke the themes of hunger and deprivation.

English Language Lyrics:

Sleep now, my hungry little girl,Close tight your dear little eyes,Your mother also is hungry,But she doesn't cry or make noise.Learn something, child, from your mother dear,Try to look on the bright side -- When you awake in the morning,The house will be full of fresh bread. Ay lyu lyu, ay lyu lyu lyu,So, sleep now, my precious, my crown.